Boston chefs scalded in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’

It was a rough night for the two Massachusetts chefs competing in “Hell’s Kitchen,” which premiered Tuesday on Fox TV.

Fitchburg diner owner David “Louie” Cordio was booted in the middle of dinner service by chef Gordon Ramsay – the only contestant in six seasons to be kicked off the reality TV show even before the first elimination ceremony.

The two-hour show ended with a cliffhanger. Fans of Boston chef Andy Husbands, nominated by his team for elimination in the second round, will have to tune in next Tuesday to see if he’s dispatched.

It was a memorable, if short, run for Cordio, who in one scene doffed his shirt to do a champagne-fueled cannonball into a hot tub.

Now he wants to go mano-a-mano with Ramsay outside the kitchen. “Put all the spatulas and spoons aside,” Cordio, 45, said. “I just want a cage match.”

So is Cordio bitter about his early exit and Ramsay’s criticism of his signature dish? “It’s TV, what can you do?” he said. “Somebody has to go out first. I just think chef Ramsay is a clown, if you ask me.”

The 16 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestants had 45 minutes to prepare their signature dishes for the series’ first challenge, and Cordio made sausage gravy over biscuits.

“Ah, (expletive) me, what is it?” was Ramsay’s first reaction.

Cordio asked Ramsay what was wrong with the dish, noting he sells “5 gallons” of it a week at his 50/50 Diner in Fitchburg. “It tastes like gunk!” Ramsay replied after spitting out a mouthful.

The final straw for Ramsay was Cordio’s performance on the meat station on opening night of the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant. After reaming Cordio for putting the rack of lamb in the oven without searing and seasoning it – and wasting a heaping plate of it – Ramsay ordered him to get out of the kitchen and pack his bags.

But Cordio had a parting shot for Ramsay in his final closeup: “He can kiss my (expletive) ass!”

Tremont 647 chef Husbands, who also failed to win a point for his signature dish, had problems with allegedly undercooked chicken during the second night of dinner. “It was tough, and I definitely goofed some stuff up,” said Husbands, who was hit with one of Ramsay’s “you (expletive) donkey” insults.

Husbands was sweating it in the hours prior to the show’s airing, as evidenced by his Twitter tweets. He went from a “little” nervous to “losing my mind” and “head about to explode” a few hours before.

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More Boston Restaurant News

A new jazz lounge and eatery is headed to Columbus Avenue in Boston’s South End.

The Stork Club Boston is drawing its inspiration from speakeasies and its name from the former Stork Club that operated in New York City from 1929 to 1965 and drew the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Ernest Hemingway, J. Edgar Hoover and the Kennedys.

It’s taking the place of Circle Plates and Lounge, an upscale French restaurant that opened last October in the former Bob’s Southern Bistro space and closed six weeks later.

Managing partner Ziad Chamoun, previously director of operations for the Barking Crab restaurants in Boston and Newport, is buying out the current owner.

“The goal is to bring back a place where there’s conversation and music, and artists and people from different groups within Boston can come in and enjoy,” spokesman Marc Deley said. “There will be weekly live jazz music, but it will be more atmospheric jazz.”

The 88-seat Stork Club Boston is slated to open Aug. 11.

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Executive chef Jeff Poliseno’s menu of comfort food “with a twist” that’s meant to be shared will be served until 1 a.m., an hour before closing, with prices of $7 to $17. Poliseno formerly worked at American Seasons on Nantucket and as executive chef at Boston’s Vox Populi.

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A little bit of news on the restaurant replacing Excelsior at Boston’s Heritage on the Garden.

London’s Marlon Abela Restaurant Corp., which Himmel Hospitality is partnering with to run the restaurant, has posted a help-wanted ad for a “Provencal-style bistro.”

The Turning the Tables column runs every other Friday. Send restaurant tips to